I am working on converting an old Acer Extensa 2000 laptop into a retro 'console', similar to http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Nintendo-NES-PC/

The laptop has Celeron 2.8GHz CPU, but not much RAM (I think 702MB -basing it off an old DxDiag from shortly before it failed). I remember it ran (3-4 yrs ago) slowly sometimes, and hot, but that was Windows XP, so am hoping the more lightweight Puppy Arcade will run better. I'd like to be able to play up to PS1 or N64 games.

My laptop has a faulty hard drive (the reason I stopped using it). I have now ordered a cheap replacement, but if I understand LiveCD - I can start testing it now if I burn Puppy Arcade to a CD and boot it?

I don't have much experience with linux (though did use a Xandros EEE for 6 months while travelling), so this post is just to reassure myself this will work. And also to ask for help when I stuff up in a few weeks once I have the parts I need

So does it include working emulators for all the common systems, or will I need to track them down separately?
Does it boot quickly (I want the proper console experience - playing within a few seconds of turning the switch on)?
Would it run faster than Windows XP?
Does it support a full range of USB controllers (bought some dirt cheap knockoffs from eBay)? Are they easy to set up?
How does it compare with similar front ends for Windows (eg: GameEx looks pretty good too - http://www.gameex.net/)?

Yes, Puppy Arcade can run fine without a hard drive.. Boot the Live CD, and when the desktop has loaded up and you're ready, you can remove the Puppy Arcade CD and put in a CD/DVD with all your roms on it.

More emulators can be installed though: see the first few posts of this thread for extra downloads.

Boot times depend on your hardware and how you installed Puppy. It will not boot in seconds, as you want, maybe a minute or so (or less).

Linux in general supports lots of gamepads, I always use cheap Logitech Dual Analog (PS2 style) pads.. They work great - just plug them in before your desktop loads up to load them. (Or restart X after plugging in the joypad).

"Rom-Loader" (the 'GameEx of Puppy Arcade) is really simple, not as fully featured as GameEx... Rom-Loader does not have screenshot previews, most plyaed lists on so on..

It worked well, possibly the only complaint was the boot time. It seemed most of the time was spent copying itself to RAM. Will this improve if I install Puppy Arcade to the Hard Drive?

Yes, it will be a bit quicker... But there are two (or more) HD install options: firstly the 'full install', or 'frugal install'.. A 'full install' should boot faster - stuff is not copied to RAM..

But if using a frugal install the real speed up would be to remove all the kernel drivers that you are not using.. Note: The kernel drivers are stored in /lib/modules/... But do not do this manually.

IF you can be bothered to do this, here is some information:

There is a tool called "zdrvcutr", which can remove the extra drivers for you. To use 'zdrv_cutr' you must be using a Puppy 'frugal' install with a zdrv file...

The zdrv SFS file is a separate SFS file that contains ONLY the kernel modules. If a puppy uses a zdrv, the kernel drivers are not in the main SFS file, only in the zdrv SFS file.

Anyway... Creating a frugal install to HD is easy, using the 'Frugal Installer' tool, in Menu->Setup.

However, Puppy Arcade does not use a zdrv SFS file by default - everything is in pup_420.sfs
But Puppy Arcade can be easily made to use a zdrv file, by installing and using the latest 'Woofy remaster tool', which is here

gedditoffme wrote:

Thanks for releasing such a great product.

You're welcome, glad you enjoy it.Last edited by sc0ttman on Fri 01 Apr 2011, 08:20; edited 1 time in total

do you have the xboxdrv needed to be able to use xbox 360 pads?
(is that even the right thing?)

i have one that is plug in and one that is wireless ( it needs some receiver thing) and i think i might have a computer for emulation purposes coming into my hands soon so i just want to ask if this is a part of it or not

do you have the xboxdrv needed to be able to use xbox 360 pads?
(is that even the right thing?)

i have one that is plug in and one that is wireless ( it needs some receiver thing) and i think i might have a computer for emulation purposes coming into my hands soon so i just want to ask if this is a part of it or not

Yes xboxdrv is the thing.. And no, it is not included in Puppy Arcade. I thought it was a bit heavy, considering bluetooth and other things would need to be added to make it work with most controllers.

But it should be possible, if you install the right deps and compile it.

NES with Super Mario Brothers 3 LAGS!!! Its unplayable its so bad... Running this thing with Win98 with a nes emulator was perfect.

There are two NES emulators included, as I've noticed they work for some, not for others. Are you using FCEU or Nestopia? Both are installed by default, I will be very surprised if neither one can work better for you. Also make sure to play with the settings!_________________Akita Linux, VLC-GTK, Pup Search, Pup File Search

I've just used the the NES one from the OS X style menu bar on the bottom. I haven't found any others installed for NES. I also have a hard time loading a rom. After i click the NES from the menu bar on the bottom, I select the rom from the list... but there is no load button.... And if i double click it loads it about 1 out of 10 times.

I've just used the the NES one from the OS X style menu bar on the bottom. I haven't found any others installed for NES. I also have a hard time loading a rom. After i click the NES from the menu bar on the bottom, I select the rom from the list... but there is no load button.... And if i double click it loads it about 1 out of 10 times.

Use the "Frontend Chooser" tool to change emulators. This tool can be found in the QuickStart menu, or in Menu->Setup (as far as I remember).. In the Frontend Chooser tool you can choose either FCEU or Nestopia as your default NES emulator... (Please note that the "Rom-Loader" tool will always use FCEU as Nestopia has no CLI options!! grrrr...)

You could also try another emulator.. iNES is simple but fast: iNES-3.6.pet

Also note that performance can be improved a lot (particularly for FCEU) by adding OpenGL drivers where possible. Use either the "Xorg_dri_full" in the Puppy Package Manager, or specific ATI/Nvidia drivers (see first post).

If you really need to, you could try changing from Xorg to Xvesa, with a low resolution (800x600, or 640x480) - which actually works alright, as most emulated games have low resolutions anyway - there is not much sense in scaling up the graphics in resolution, then stretching them to make them fill the screen...

Edit: You may also want to run some tools on your ROMs, to byte swap them or god know what else..
This tool can do all that kinda stuff: ucon64-2.0.0

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